Had some family over to the house last night and my nephew (30 years old) liked my Coopers Lager and Mr Beer Vienna Lager so much he's going to start homebrewing. Another convert. Hope everybody has a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
Been brewing for a little over 2 years now. Started with extract(im sure 99% of you have ) and now do partial mash. I have a AHS Holiday Chocolate Stout conditioning in bottles currently. Tried one yesterday(been bottled for just over a week) and it's surprisingly tasty for such a young brew. Keep on brewin!
Just drank ABH Pumpkin Ale (wife though I was crazy cooking a pumpkin for an hour), Now in the primary I have a ABH Special holiday ale (2x the spices), and getting ready to brew a ABH Winter IPA (4 types of hops)--I am psyched. I brewed a batch in college that was drank in 2 minutes, and one 10y ago that I poured 32oz of Karo Corn Syrup to boost alc %--yeah never do that. I knew I could brew a good beer, I just needed time to brew/enjoy it. I am starting to look for a 3rd batch to make in Jan. Yeah it might be an addiction--especially since I only plan on drinking the beer I brew. By the way, my friends father was going to water the plants with my college brew a year later, instead he drank it and said it was the best beer he ever had. Can you guys list the homebrew places in suffolk. Is that hardware store in Northport still doing it
Walt, Although I just started (again) in June, I've found that sometimes aging improves flavor. Karp's Hardware in Northport is still doing it. Karp's Homebrew Shop, Homebrewing and Winemaking supplies and equipment, beermaking and winemaking kits, books, links and more!
Then there's Kedco in Farmingville. They don't have a webpage, but here's a review/map/address from Beer Advocate Brews Brothers at Kedco - Farmingdale, NY - Reviews - BeerAdvocate
There's also Arbor Wine and beer making in Islip Arbor Wine and Beermaking - Beer Kits, Wine Ingredients, How Tos, Equipment and More
I'm still partial/extract brewing and I've been to all three. The last two seem to focus more on wine making (or wine storage as in the case of Kedco). I think Arbor has fresher looking kits (some of the boxes and cans of extract at Kedco looked kinda old...). I like Karp's for a number of reasons, the staff is friendly and they have a good supply. I believe on Saturdays they have some sort of a tasting (you'll have to check with them first). I was there when they were having one, but I was in between jobs and couldn't try any. (I've found, as an electrician, it tends to erode customer confidence if you show up with beer on your breath...). Hope this helped. pete
Walt, Although I just started (again) in June, I've found that sometimes aging improves flavor. Karp's Hardware in Northport is still doing it. Karp's Homebrew Shop, Homebrewing and Winemaking supplies and equipment, beermaking and winemaking kits, books, links and more!
Then there's Kedco in Farmingville. They don't have a webpage, but here's a review/map/address from Beer Advocate Brews Brothers at Kedco - Farmingdale, NY - Reviews - BeerAdvocate
There's also Arbor Wine and beer making in Islip Arbor Wine and Beermaking - Beer Kits, Wine Ingredients, How Tos, Equipment and More
I'm still partial/extract brewing and I've been to all three. The last two seem to focus more on wine making (or wine storage as in the case of Kedco). I think Arbor has fresher looking kits (some of the boxes and cans of extract at Kedco looked kinda old...). I like Karp's for a number of reasons, the staff is friendly and they have a good supply. I believe on Saturdays they have some sort of a tasting (you'll have to check with them first). I was there when they were having one, but I was in between jobs and couldn't try any. (I've found, as an electrician, it tends to erode customer confidence if you show up with beer on your breath...). Hope this helped. pete
I'm with you on this one. Karps is definitely my favorite. Although some of their stock looks pretty old. Seems like i'll only go to a LHS if i'm in a jam nowadays.
Yeah, Karp's is also a great old fashioned hardware store. Creaky wooden floors and tons of stuff and quality that you won't find at HD or Lowes. I recently been buying from Austin Home Brew. I got to $82 today and figured $90 with shipping, why not spend a little more and get free shipping? So, in order to save $8 I spent $20 more. Beer logic, I guess.
I have 2 bottles of the pumpkin to aged to infinity or.... Not to mention 3 grolsch for 2 weeks from now. THe pumpkin was the 1st pretty/real gd beer. I def. like austinHB. I will check out Karps when I get a chance. If I brew as much as I want to it shouldn't be hard to take a simple LME kit off them. But I wonder how long are the hops good fresh. I know they are dried, but... It those shops have kits, we should make an effort to buy some. Has anybody had problems carbonating a 22oz? Also, how long does it take for a party pig to carbonate. Being that I am trying not to drink anything but my own... I am thirsty... I feel this hobby might counteract my good intentions. My brew book is "packed" so I have a few basic questions: 1. can I leave a batch in the primary for 3 weeks with temps in the upper 50's for ten days (going away), 2. typically how long should the batch be in the primary (7-10 days?), & I guess 2 to 3 days for secondary, and a 7 to 10 (14?) for bottle carbonation? I am playing it by feel as you can tell. I never used the hydrometer. I forget and don't want to introduce anything interesting into it. When do you take the readings: how wort, during fermentation to see if it stopped, and at bottling. I know you take the difference and multiply by 131. If you are using glass how do you float that in there? I am annoying myself with these questions, but any help would be great. I could spend more time doing than worrying/researching.
My tentative plan is bottle before I go to Ireland, but have 2 batches in the primary....I would need to buy a new pig and take beat up the homeless guy for bottles... This of course will allow me to age the beer--maybe.
FYI: one guy got maggots in his primary--guys wanted him to bottle it!.
) and now do partial mash. I have a AHS Holiday Chocolate Stout conditioning in bottles currently. Tried one yesterday(been bottled for just over a week) and it's surprisingly tasty for such a young brew. Keep on brewin!
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